TBLeague / Phicen Seamless Bodies with Steel Skeleton Catalog (updated continually)

INTRODUCTION

Since the subjects of different body types, heights, care, precautions, etc. keep coming up when it comes to TBLeague's / Phicen's super-flexible seamless bodies with steel internal skeletons, and since the information provided is scattered across a dozen topics in various states of completeness or relevance, I decided to start a thread that tries to assemble everything we need to know as a central area of reference for these bodies.

This catalog is limited to TBLeague / Phicen super-flexible seamless bodies with steel internal skeletons and TPE skin/flesh (note that while TBLeague's advertising listed the material as silicon, a company spokeswoman has confirmed it is in fact TPE -- HERE; it does appear to have slightly different properties from the TPE used in Jiaou Doll seamless action figure bodies). Information in the notes below has been updated accordingly, but keep in mind this correction when accessing other pages and information.

This page was created at a time when the company in question was officially called TBLeague. It has since resumed the name Phicen. Both names refer to the same company and the naming has not been updated in references below.

The plan is to start with a basic image guide (arranged alphabetically by model name/number), accompanied with basic information and links to reviews or other posts, then follow with some basic information as to care, clothing, etc.

I'm starting with items from my collection, but I certainly do not own every body type, so I'm inviting those of you who have versions I'm missing to submit similar images for inclusion -- of course you will be credited accordingly. Please submit such images, information, or suggestions below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Part I: Male Bodies (Post 2 below)
Part II: Female Bodies (Post 3 below)
Part III: Skintone (Post 4 below)
Part IV: Body Type (Post 5 below)
Part V: Care and Maintenance (Post 6 below)
Part VI: Clothing (Post 7 below)
Part VII: Customizing (Post 8 below)
Part VIII: Stainless Steel Skeleton and Articulation (Post 9 below)

#phicen #tbleague #seamless #steel #body #male #female #reference

PART I: PHICEN / TBLEAGUE SEAMLESS MALE BODIES WITH STAINLESS STEEL SKELETON

NOTE: All bodies except M36B are suntan, although the actual color varies. The heads shown in the photos were not part of the base body sets. For some comparisons with Jiaou bodies, see HERE.

M30 -- Shortish and muscular; about 11 in (28 cm) if head included

Review here: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-062916b.htm

M31 -- Tall and skinny; about 11.6 in (29.5 cm) if head included; anatomically incomplete (at least original release, newer versions may have fixed this and other issues)

Review here: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-062916b.htm

M32 -- "Asian" type muscular; about 11.8 in (30 cm) if head included

Review here: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-120216b.htm

M33 -- Muscular; about 11.6-11.8 in (29.5-30 cm) if head included; included ankle extenders (not shown and not recommended) can add another c. 1 cm in height

Review here: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-120916b.htm

M34 -- Heavily muscled; about 12 in (30.5 cm) if head included

Review here: http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW-021717b.htm

For detailed measurements, see Post 35 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

M35 -- Bulkier version of M34; about 12.2 in (30.5-31 cm) if head included

Review here: https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t247-tbleague-phicen-m35-updated-photo-heavy

M36A -- Caucasian skintone version of M36B below; tall and lean; about 13.25 in (33.5 cm) if head included

Review here: https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1055-phicen-tbleague-superflexible-seamless-male-body-m36-review-updated-with-part-2#13727

M36B -- African skintone version of M36A above; tall and lean; about 13.25 in (33.5 cm) if head included

Review here: https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t1055-phicen-tbleague-superflexible-seamless-male-body-m36-review-updated-with-part-2

Also see GianToy's guide to the TBLeague male bodies:



https://giantoy.com/blogs/guides/line-up-comparison-of-tbleague-male-figures-m30-m36

PART II: PHICEN / TBLEAGUE SEAMLESS FEMALE BODIES WITH STAINLESS STEEL SKELETON

NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, most of the TBLeague seamless female bodies in my collection are suntan and mid-bust versions of the released bodies. Unless otherwise noted, the heads in the photos were not part of the base body set.

S01A -- medium breasted; pale version of S02A and S03A below; S01 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own
Example: http://www.phicen.com/ProductView.asp?ID=197&SortPath=0,1,153,

S02A -- medium breasted; tan (more recent versions may be suntan!) version of S01A above and S03A below; S02 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own


S03A -- medium breasted; suntan version of S01A and S02A above; S03 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own
NOTE: Not certain this was ever produced, but it would make sense given the pattern of early product numbering.

S04B -- large breasted; pale version of S05B and S06B below; S04 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own
Example: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/1-6-phicen-tbleague-stainless-steel-skeleton-seamless-female-body-12-inch-skin-tone-pale-3?variant=14819866771519

S05B -- large breasted; tan version of S04B above and S06B below; S05 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own
Example: http://www.phicen.com/ProductView.asp?ID=199&SortPath=0,1,153,

S06B -- large breasted; suntan version of S04B and S05B above; S06 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own; tall -- about 29 cm when head included.
Example: http://www.phicen.com/ProductView.asp?ID=200&SortPath=0,1,153,

Additional measurements: Appoximately 14 cm around the bust, 10.3 cm around the waist, 15 cm around the hips (courtesy of AerynDiana).

S07C -- large breasted; pale version of S08 and S09C below; S07 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own. About 27.6 mm tall with head.
Example: http://www.phicen.com/ProductView.asp?ID=201&SortPath=0,1,153,

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S08C -- large breasted; tan version of S07C above and S09C below; S08 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own
Example: http://www.phicen.com/ProductView.asp?ID=202&SortPath=0,1,153,

S09C -- large breasted; suntan version of S07C and S08C above; S09 with included head and bikini; cannot stand on its own


For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S10D -- large breasted; pale version of S11D and S12D below; removable feet

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S11D -- large breasted; tan version of S10D above and S12D below; removable feet
NOTE: Not certain this was ever produced, but it was planned.

S12D -- large breasted; suntan version of S10D and S11D above; removable feet. About 28 cm tall with head.


For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S13E -- large breasted; pale version of S14E and S15E below; removable feet; athletic
NOTE: Not certain this was ever produced, but it was planned.

S14E -- large breasted; tan version of S13E above and S15E below; removable feet; athletic
NOTE: Not certain this was ever produced, but it was planned.

S15E -- large breasted; suntan version of S13E and S14E above; removable feet; athletic
NOTE: Not certain this was ever produced, but it was planned.

S16A -- medium breasted; pale version of S17B below; removable feet

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S17B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S16A above; removable feet. About 28.4 cm tall with head.


For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S18A -- medium breasted; pale version of S19B below; removable feet

S19B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S18A above; removable feet


S20A -- large breasted; pale version of S21B below; removable feet

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S21B -- large breasted; suntan version of S20A above; removable feet. About 28.1 cm tall with head.


For detailed measurements, see  Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S22A -- medium breasted; pale version of S23B below; removable feet

S23B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S22A above; athletic / muscular; removable feet. About 28.1 cm tall with head.


For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I)

S24A -- medium breasted; pale version of S25B below; petite -- just over 10.4 in (26.5 cm) tall with head; removable feet; bust 16 cm, waist 11.5 cm, hips 16 cm


S24B -- medium breasted; "dark brown" version of S24A above; petite -- just over 10.4 in (26.5 cm) tall with head; removable feet; not anatomically correct


S25B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S24A above; petite -- just over 10.4 in (26.5 cm) tall with head; removable feet


S25C -- medium breasted; "dark-skinned" version of S24A above; petite -- just over 10.4 in (26.5 cm) tall with head; removable feet; not anatomically correct


S26A -- medium breasted; pale version of S27B below; extra petite; removable feet; bust 12 cm, waist 8.5 cm, hips 12.25 cm


S27B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S26A above; extra petite; removable feet


S28A -- medium breasted; pale version of S29B below; medium height -- just over 10.8 in (27.5 cm) tall with head; buxom / curvaceous; removable feet

S28B -- medium breasted; "dark brown" version of S29B below; medium height -- just over 10.8 in (27.5 cm) tall with head; buxom / curvaceous; removable feet; not anatomically correct


S29B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S28A above; medium height -- just over 10.8 in (27.5 cm) tall with head; buxom / curvaceous; removable feet


S29C -- medium breasted; suntan version of S29B above; medium height -- just over 10.8 in (27.5 cm) tall with head; buxom / curvaceous; removable feet; not anatomically correct


Additional measurements for S28A-S29C: approximately 15.5 cm around the bust, 12 cm around the waist, 16 cm around the hips.

S30 -- not produced or announced

S31 -- not produced or announced

S32A -- medium breasted; pale version of S33B below; long-legged, narrow-shouldered, very tall; removable feet

S33B -- medium breasted; suntan version of S32A above; long-legged, narrow shouldered, very tall; removable feet
Example: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/pre-order-1-6-tbleague-phicen-long-leg-slim-shoulder-seamless-body-s32a-s33b

S34A -- medium breasted; pale version of S35A below; "teenage" body; version with head included is listed as S34; bikini included; cannot stand on its own

S35A -- medium breasted; suntan version of S34A above; "teenage" body; version with head included is listed as S35; bikini included; cannot stand on its own
Example: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/pre-order-1-6-tbleague-phicen-teenage-girl-phmb2019-seamless-body-no-head?variant=31585716568127

S36A -- large breasted; pale like S37A below!; "anime" body; version with head included is listed as S36; bikini included; removable feet

S37A -- large breasted; pale like S36A above!; "anime" body; version with head included is listed as S37; bikini included; removable feet
Example: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/pre-order-1-6-tbleague-anime-girls-s36a-s37a-pale-seamless-body?variant=32264238628927

S38A -- large breasted; pale version of S39A below; medium height -- just over 10.6 in (27 cm) tall with head (in this case, its own); "plus size" or "chubby" body; version with head included is listed as S38; bikini included; removable feet

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I).

S39A -- large breasted; suntan version of S38A above; medium height -- just over 10.6 in (27 cm) tall with head (in this case, its own); "plus size" or "chubby" body; version with head included is listed as S39; bikini included; removable feet


Example: https://giantoy.com/products/pre-order-1-6-tbleague-pllb2020-s38a-pllb2020-s39a-plus-size-body?variant=32129112735807

For detailed measurements, see Post 37 below (courtesy of MeMyself&I).

S40A -- large breasted; pale; tall slender body (height listed as 28.7 cm); bikini included; cannot stand on its own, version of S41A below

S41A -- large breasted; pale; tall slender body (height listed as 28.7 cm); bikini included; removable feet version of S40A above
Example of S40A-S41A: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/1-6-tbleague-tall-slender-pllb2021-s40a-s41a-seamless-body?variant=39477340078143

S42A -- large breasted; pale version of S43A below; tall "European" body; bikini included; cannot stand on its own. About 29.1 cm tall with head.

S43A -- large breasted; suntan version of S42A above; tall "European" body; bikini included; cannot stand on its own
Example: https://giantoy.com/collections/phicen/products/pre-order-1-6-tbleague-european-female-seamless-body-undetachable-feet-s42a-s43a?variant=32715029020735

S44A -- small breasted; pale version of S45A below; petite "Teenager" body; removable feet.

S45A -- small breasted; suntan version of S44A above; petite "Teenager" body -- just about 10.5 inches (26.7 cm) tall with head; removable feet.



S46 -- small breasted; pale version of S47 below; S46 comes with head; S46A without head, cannot stand on its own; S46B without head, removable feet. Height listed as 29 cm.

S47A -- small breasted; suntan version of S46A above, without head, cannot stand on its own; S47 comes with head; height listed as 29 cm.

S47B -- small breasted; suntan version of S46B above, without head, with removable feet; about 29.5 cm (11.6 in) tall with head.



Example (new product announcement) of S46-S47: https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t5183-new-product-tbleague-s46-47-month-body#71814

S48A -- medium breasted; pale version of S49A below, without head, with removable feet; S48 comes with head; about 28.3 cm tall with head.

S49A -- medium breasted; suntan version of S48A above, without head, with removable feet; S49 comes with head; about 28.3 cm tall with head.



Example: here.

S52A -- large breasted; pale version of S53A below, without head, with removable feet; about 29.5 cm tall with head.

S53A -- large breasted; suntan version of S52A above, without head, with removable feet; about 29.5 cm tall with head.










See also GianToy's guides to the TBLeague bodies:



https://giantoy.com/blogs/guides/tbleague-phicen-standard-female-figures-comparison-with-photo-body-shape
https://giantoy.com/blogs/guides/how-to-choose-the-right-phicen-tbleague-female-body

PART III: Skintone

Over the course of its production of superflexible seamless bodies with stainless steel skeletons, TBLeague / Phicen has supplied them in up to three different skintones. These are pale, suntan, and tan for female bodies, and suntan or African (only M36B) for the male bodies. Tan was limited to female bodies and discontinued fairly early on. In both the female and male bodies, the label suntan has been applied to what are, in fact, slightly different skintones. Earlier female bodies in ("old") suntan were a little darker than the later ones (in "new" suntan), besides some minor variations within each skintone; male bodies in suntan are palpably different from each other between M30 (lighter and grayish), M31 (darker and warmer), and M32-M36A (medium and warm), but always darker than female suntan (whether "old" or "new"). With female bodies, the continued availability of older models originally produced in "old" suntan does not mean that the skintone has remained consistent: the new releases of these models are in "new" suntan.

Update, September 2023: two new skintones for female base bodies advertised by TBLeague / Phicen, "dark brown" and "dark-skinned," see HERE.

Here is a little line up comparing the skintone on some of the bodies (nst = new suntan) --


Here is a comparison photo of a series of head sculpts on an M33 body --


For more information and additional comparison photos, see https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3652-matching-head-sculpts-and-tbleague-skin-tone-part-i#48367

PART IV: Body Type

Bodies vary in their height and physique, as well as functionality.

FEET: The earliest female bodies of this series were released with seamless ankles but non-functional feet, making them unable to stand. For the most part subsequent releases have been with removable feet (usually supplied as two interchangeable pairs of flat and high heel feet) and able to stand on their own. Male bodies have been released only with flat removable feet. These are usually too large for sixth-scale footwear designed to accommodate a figure's foot (where needed, they can be substituted with feet from WorldBox or other companies, but some adjustments may be necessary to ensure reasonable stability).

There are at least three types of detachable feet used by TBLeague female bodies. The older, taller bodies, employed a small foot with a large foot peg. The petite bodies (like S24A-27B and S44A-S45A) employed the same small foot but with a smaller foot peg. The curvier bodies (like S28A-S29B and S38A-S39A) employed a large foot with a large foot peg (the same foot peg as for the older taller bodies). The large feet are a larger than usual for this scale, making it more challenging to use them with third party footwear.



BREAST SIZE: Earlier female body releases were available in three different breast sizes: small, medium, and large; later ones (or new versions of the old releases) are available in medium and large only.

MUSCULATURE: Bodies vary in musculature, with some being specifically intended for a more muscular look. This is most pronounced with, for example, S22A-S23B among female bodies and M34 and M35 among male bodies; M32 is said to be intended to depict a more typically Asian type of tight musculature.

BUILD: Bodies vary in height and build. Most early female bodies were tall and lean (but with broad shoulders), but a greater variation has been introduced with more recent types: S24A-S25B are petite, S26A-S27B are extra petite, S28A-S29B and S38A-S39B are somewhere between the older taller types and the petites, but more curvaceous. S44A-S45A is described as "teenage," and has narrower shoulders. Among male bodies, M30 is short and muscled, perhaps in a slightly stylized way; M31 is a taller and supposedly more "average" type; M32 is an atypically tall type with a specifically Asian tighter muscular anatomy (with hand sculpts specific to Asian martial arts); M33 is muscled but not overly so, with different height potential provided by a problematic set of hard plastic ankle extenders; M34 is a more muscled and taller body type; M35 is slightly bulkier than M34; M36A-M36B are Caucasian and African versions of the same taller, leaner, Basketball-player type (with hand sculpts specific to Basketball play). Bodies also differ to the extent to which they are anatomically complete -- for example the detail in the depiction of the female genitals varies (most detailed in S07C-S09C, S22A-S23B, S32A-S33B), as does the number or availability of male genitals (M30, M32, M33 -- three; M31 -- none; M34-M36B -- two).

Examples of TBLeague seamless bodies of different types:













(this image courtesy of Diana)

PART V: Care and Maintenance

Basic maintenance of the seamless bodies involves keeping them dry and minimizing the degree to which they are tacky. Apply protective powder (either cosmetic silicone finishing powder or baby powder or corn starch) to reduce tackiness and after washing.

Washing the bodies should be done with water and soap, but avoid more corrosive substances.

Stains can be dealt with in a variety of ways. Fibers that have attached to the body can be picked up with a lint roller brush, but remember to reapply protective powder. Dye transfer stains can sometimes disappear on their own, if left alone for about a week or so. To speed up stain removal, you can wash the body with soap and water. Sometimes this works immediately, sometimes you will see the stain disappear days later (especially after a second treatment with soap and water). Acne cream containing Benzoyl peroxide can also be used to fight a stain, although it is a possibly more corrosive substance.

While the photo below is about impermanently putting hair on a TBLeague body, the items shown include NYX HD Silicone Finishing Powder (one of several options for protecting your action figure body surface) and a Scotch-Brite travel-size lint brush that comes in very handy removing dust and fibers.

PART VI: Clothing

Apart from actual character sets, TBLeague (formerly Phicen) does not provide much or any clothing for their base figure bodies. Early female bodies came with bikini sets of tops and bottoms, but this practice was discontinued until reintroduced more recently. Several of the male body types were provided with some very basic clothing -- M32 with yellow sport shorts, M33 with black underwear and ankle and wrist covers, M34 with yellow underwear and ankle and wrist colors -- but this practice was also discontinued.

The TPE-covered bodies present their own challenges to clothing figures in sixth scale. The TPE surface can make the donning of clothes with tight sleeves or pant legs more difficult than sliding them onto hard plastic limbs. On the other hand, the TPE flesh is soft and malleable, making it possible to squeeze it into this clothing, to a point.

You can find some ideas in the following threads, among others:
Clothing TBLeague / Phicen Seamless Bodies

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2037-s26a-and-s27b-what-works-and-what-doesn-t-warning-lots-of-pics (by doodlehobby, with additional examples by nhwioz)

Phicen-TBLeague Figures with Fashion Doll Clothing and Accessories (by DarthJ)

PART VII: Customizing

PAINTING THE WHOLE (OR MUCH OF THE) BODY SURFACE: The TPE material that forms the skin (and flesh) of the TBLeague (formerly Phicen) bodies is not designed to be painted -- and certainly does not lend itself to that. Enterprising customizers have found ways around this, for example with Rit Dye (see gooboo's thread HERE), make up (see Kayla's thread HERE), or ground chalk. Several people have done so with varying success, and there have been issues of transfer and fading (paint absorption into the flesh material). Generally more successful alternatives include using Shoe Cream (see One Sixth Practical's thread HERE) or using (non-water-soluble) oil pastels, a technique invented and shared by Ephiane. Although you are limited as to color choices depending on the oil pastel product you are using and it is very difficult to blend different colors together, the result is stable, non-transferable, and non-harmful to the figure body. Since oil pastels produce the most immediate results, I outline this technique below (Shoe Cream application potentially produces more even coloring and is less abrasive, but involves a two-week fading period after application before reaching a permanent color).

Recommended procedure:
(1) Wash the figure body with soap and water to remove the protective powder. Pat dry with a paper towel.
(2) Apply oil pastel to evenly cover the desired surface or whole body.
(3) Rub it in with a makeup sponge -- to ensconce pastel particles into the flesh material while dislodging others that are loose and transferring them elsewhere. While you want to rub in the oil pastel with some determination, try to avoid overdoing it to the point of damaging the smooth surface and making it too rough (it won't be a disaster, but best to avoid).
(4) Wash the oil-pastel-colored body with soap and water to remove loose fragments of pastel. Pat dry with a paper towel.
(5) Repeat steps 2-4 as needed to achieve the desired color and consistency and until you notice no trasfer of color while washing the body or on the towel used to dry.
(6) When you have achieved the desired look and there is no more color transfer, reapply protective powder to the dry body. You are done.

Example:


PAINTING DETAILS / DESIGNS ON THE BODY SURFACE: The same limitation applies to painting smaller or finer designs on the body surface (anything from hairs to tattoos), compounded by the problem that there is no practical way to apply oil pastel finely enough (it is too soft to hold a sharp edge and it would be smeared anyway during the process described above). For very fine details painted directly onto the surface, I recommend using a Uni Pin Fine Line pigment ink pen. For larger details painted onto a surface already colored with oil pastels (as described above), I recommend using a Markal Pro-Line XT paint marker.

Recommended procedure for either scenario:
(1) Wash the figure body with soap and water to remove the protective powder. Pat dry with a paper towel.
(2) Create your design with the pigment ink pen or paint marker. Be careful not to smudge or transfer before it dries. Leave it for half a day or more.
(3) Reapply protective powder. (Check for color transfer, repeat application of protective powder as needed; soak up color transfer as described in the NOTE below if needed.) You are done.

NOTE: If you need to paint fine details on an already oil-pastel-colored surface, apply the paint from the Markal Pro-Line XT paint marker with a sharp tooth pick. Or you can use a Pilot Drawing Pen with oil-based ink (they come with a variety of tips, some of them very fine), but be advised that you will have trouble preventing color transfer from the oil-based ink. It is possible to contain it by leaving it be for a few days and then vigorously soaking it up (through a sort of static massaging) with clean paper towels (making sure not to let them move, so as not to transfer the ink to another part of the surface); repeat as many times as needed to stop seeing transfer.

Examples:





You can also explore the full Painting Seamless Bodies thread.

PAINTING THE NIPPLES: You can use oil pastels in a more localized version of the body painting technique described above. If so, for best results help yourself with a stencil. Alternatives include using watercolor pencil or Gundam Real Touch marker.

Example of using oil pastel with stencil:


See the full Painting TBLegue Nipples Tutorial.

MODIFYING THE NECK: To make the neck fit more naturally in a head sculpt with a wider neck opening, you can stuff the area between the metal neck post and the rubbery TPE "flesh" with various materials, until it reaches the desired girth.



See the full Seamless Neck Stuffing Tutorial.

MODIFYING THE BODY'S HEIGHT AND SHAPE: This is not something I have attempted myself, and our resident expert is master kitbasher and artist Ephiane. She has demonstrated that it is possible to remove portions of the metal endoskeleton and of the TPE flesh to shorten a body, and that it is also possible to attach new material and textures to it. The examples are scattered throughout several threads, and I can only hope she will contribute photos and tips to post here when she has the time.

Examples of shortened female figures (by Ephiane) --


Example of bodies with added texture and shapes and (another of) shortened stature (by Ephiane) --


More examples in the Troll Cave thread (by Ephiane).

REPLACING THE NON-FUNCTIONAL SEAMLESS-ANKLED "FLOPPY" FEET WITH FUNCTIONAL DETACHABLE ONES: Again, not something I have tried myself, but it has been successfully executed by our resident TBLeague surgery expert gooboo. Basically, it is possible to slice through the "flesh" of the seamless ankle and to saw/clip off the metal endoskeleton, and then place ball joints at the ends coming out of the lower legs, which will work with detachable feet.

Example of converted seamless-ankled bodies (by gooboo) --


More examples, full description of the process, and downloadable goodies in the Conversion thread (by gooboo). For a different take on the issue, which might also work, depending on your needs, take a look at the Rubber feet replacement tutorial tutorial (by ThePhotogsBlog).

PART VIII: The Stainless Steel Skeleton and Articulation

It's not just a question of curiosity about what lies beneath. It's also a way of understanding how your action figure works, what is safe, what is not, and perhaps how to fix something that has gone awry.

Beneath the TPE skin and flesh of the TBLeague seamless bodies lies a fairly simple stainless steel skeleton. The examples below come from a dissected M31, but they are representative of the general type. The only non-metal part is a mostly hollow chamber taking up much of the upper part of the torso, made of transparent plastic; it appears that TPE material has seeped in and filled up the hollow parts. The elbows, the hips, and the midsection are double-jointed; all joints are ball joints, apart from some like the upper biceps and lower thighs on some models, each of which can rotate around its respective axis. The elbows and knees are designed to have realistic limitation in the appropriate direction The wrist and ankle pegs are clamped within the lower arms and lower legs by means of a sort of brace. In the wrists of some models (especially M31 among male figures), this brace can be/become loose, and this results in the wrist peg coming out with the hand sculpt. It can be inserted back into place, and the brace can be positioned accordingly, but a secure and permanent repair seems elusive; while getting all this to work, it is likely that one would damage the TPE skin and flesh of the lower arm.

For a detailed illustration and analysis of the way the stainless steel skeleton functions and troubleshooting "locked" joints, see here:
TBLeague / Phicen Stainless Steel Skeleton and Articulation Guide









More photos of the skeleton and flayed flesh in Emancipating the TBLeague/Phicen Skeleton.

These are such great tutorials. Kudos for putting in all the money and sacrifice for the sake of educating us. Do you have any suggestions for reinserting a dislodged steel neck peg on an M32? It surprisingly popped out after removing a head sculpt that was perhaps too tightly fitted. I can't for the life of me find a way to distribute enough force to pop it back into the slot.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:These are such great tutorials. Kudos for putting in all the money and sacrifice for the sake of educating us. Do you have any suggestions for reinserting a dislodged steel neck peg on an M32? It surprisingly popped out after removing a head sculpt that was perhaps too tightly fitted. I can't for the life of me find a way to distribute enough force to pop it back into the slot.

You are very welcome and thanks for commenting. I didn't invest any money in this per se -- everything you see I had owned for some time -- all I did is get organized, take the photos, add some more from before, and write it up. So I guess I invested some time. And it was about time, as these questions keep coming up and the answers are all scattered across different threads.

Looking at the steel skeleton (and I have no reason to assume it is any different with M32 than the exposed M31 in the example above), do you mean the lower ball joint of the neck piece got detached from the upper chest part? I don't know how much is possible with the steel and the rivets, but if I were you, I'd consider trying to heat up the metal (which is logical but any practical heating might not be sufficient) and also trying to pry open (just a little) the front and back parts of the chest assembly at the top. I don't know if that is even possible (and what tool to use) and if it would lead to further complications (with the rivets and/or the shoulder joints) or even irreparable damage. I also don't know how much of all this is exposed in the case of your figure -- is this an exposed endoskeleton cyborg or a regular still complete body, in which case there is not damaging the TPE skin and flesh to consider. So this is a theoretical approach. Perhaps someone else can offer some better suggestion. Ephiane has been altering these bodies (though I think in different spots) and might know something more.

Here is what I'm looking at and talking about:

What an awesome resource, Guv. Thanks for doing this. Just a note about the “Old Suntan” on the female bodies — some of those early steel skeleton bodies had varying degrees of Suntan. I have a few bodies that are actually just as dark as the male bodies, and some that are the normal Old Suntan. It’s rather hard to explain, and I’m terrible at the numbers of them.

Stryker2011 wrote:What an awesome resource, Guv. Thanks for doing this. Just a note about the “Old Suntan” on the female bodies — some of those early steel skeleton bodies had varying degrees of Suntan. I have a few bodies that are actually just as dark as the male bodies, and some that are the normal Old Suntan. It’s rather hard to explain, and I’m terrible at the numbers of them.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you approve.

Are you sure that this darker shade of "old suntan" is not actually the long-gone "tan"? I'm pretty sure my S02A (with the head) is one of those.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Stryker2011 wrote:What an awesome resource, Guv. Thanks for doing this. Just a note about the “Old Suntan” on the female bodies — some of those early steel skeleton bodies had varying degrees of Suntan. I have a few bodies that are actually just as dark as the male bodies, and some that are the normal Old Suntan. It’s rather hard to explain, and I’m terrible at the numbers of them.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you approve.

Are you sure that this darker shade of "old suntan" is not actually the long-gone "tan"? I'm pretty sure my S02A (with the head) is one of those.

No, the Tan had more of an orange tint to it. The Old Suntan on some of the females was quite dark, but that level wasn’t around for long. They were the ones that came with this head sculpt, and the skin tone changed with different batches:




The Tomoe body and a couple of the early Pale Asian bodies (that came with head sculpts) also had different skin tones from traditional Pale — they each had their own, slightly pink cast to them. (3 different tones of slightly pink, even yellowish). Phicen (now TBLeague) were all over the map in 2013-2014 as far as skin tones.

It is possible there was more variation than I was aware of. As you can see I didn't do much consistent collecting until they started to have figure bodies that could stand on their own. I did have some of their plastic skeleton figures before that, but broke one or two biceps and after failing to fix them, saved the heads and the bikinis and threw the broken bodies away. Probably should have kept them around for customs.

Man, this is absolute what i need. The figures with sizes ! And a view of the skeleton, so i can see where i have to cut the " steel bones " for modifications. If You stripped the skin by Yourself.... You can´t put it back on the Skeleton, right ? You need the key for the TBL Factory hall to do this

Thanks for showing !

Ephiane wrote:Man, this is absolute what i need. The figures with sizes ! And a view of the skeleton, so i can see where i have to cut the " steel bones " for modifications. If You stripped the skin by Yourself.... You can´t put it back on the Skeleton, right ? You need the key for the TBL Factory hall to do this

Thanks for showing !

Thank you very much. I'm glad you like it and find it useful.

This made me chuckle. I cut vertically down the TPE flesh on the torso with an X-Acto knife. It was surprisingly difficult to cut the flesh open, which is why I keep reminding people that this TPE material is actually pretty durable, if handled and stored with a decent degree of caution. After this and cutting through plenty more "accidental sinews" that had formed when the material had seeped into joints and little openings, I was able to slide the skeleton out of the body (as you would remove a jumpsuit). I kept the "boneless" body around for experimentation, and it has been seen here and there in some threads, eventually being subjected to my first attempts at replicating your oil pastel technique for coloring. Anyway, I suppose you could always stuff the skeleton back in, but you will have to find a good enough technique to glue the cut area shut (there is silicone glue, but I don't know how well it would work or hold). I've long discarded the flayed material, so I can't test for this.

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t2052-emancipating-the-phicen-tbleague-skeleton-m31-flayed

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t260-painting-seamless-bodies-updated-june-2020#5080 (Post 30)

Amazing resource! Thank you so much for putting this together. Agree that it was about time, and I appreciate you going ahead and doing it. I hope this helps people who are starting out as well as all the adventurous customizers amongst us.

skywalkersaga wrote:Amazing resource! Thank you so much for putting this together. Agree that it was about time, and I appreciate you going ahead and doing it. I hope this helps people who are starting out as well as all the adventurous customizers amongst us.

Thank you very much. I'm glad you like it and I appreciate the encouragement. And I hope so too.

Fantastic resource! I am bookmarking this thread for future use!

MeMyself&I wrote:Fantastic resource! I am bookmarking this thread for future use!

Thank you very much. I'm very happy you're finding it useful.

This is great! Thanks for compiling everything into one thread! Appreciate your hard work!My gotos are usually 17b or 23b for female. I do have a ymtoy head though that looks undersized. I'm thinking of maybe getting a 25b for it. That or find one of the cheaper non phicen bodies.

csyeung wrote:This is great! Thanks for compiling everything into one thread! Appreciate your hard work!My gotos are usually 17b or 23b for female. I do have a ymtoy head though that looks undersized. I'm thinking of maybe getting a 25b for it. That or find one of the cheaper non phicen bodies.

Thanks, and you're very welcome. I'm glad you're finding this useful. I, too, had S17B and S23B as my usual go tos, but lately I prefer S29B and S25B. Yes, it gets trickier finding heads that work with the more petite bodies, but it's not impossible. For example, S25B works pretty great with the HT Leia head(s), as in here:
https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3178-silver-linings-a-star-wars-story-nsfw